Why You Need to Monitor and Test Your Brake Fluid

When you drive a car, you’re going to experience some sort of problems at some point down the line. While you can keep upgrading your car to newer vehicles every time it begins to age, there are still problems that can arise. Now, there are certain problems that can develop which definitely require the expertise, knowledge, skill, and tools of a professional mechanic to rectify and if you’re uncomfortable with carrying out work to your vehicle yourself, or are unsure of what you’re doing, we’d always advise handing the job over to a professional. Your safety and other road users’ safety is paramount. However, if you have a little existing knowledge and are confident that you can carry the job out correctly, you can save yourself a whole lot of money on minor repairs by doing the work yourself. For now, let’s focus on monitoring and testing your brake fluid!

Brake Fluid Testing Kits

First things first, let’s focus on the equipment that you will need – a brake fluid testing kit. The best brake fluid tester should contain numerous test strips (so that you can double or triple check your results if you so please), which will give results based on a visual scale and should be able to identify bad brake fluid in just one minute.

Why Do We Need Them?

Your car’s brakes need to be in top condition at all times, as they control how quickly you can bring your moving vehicle to a halt. This could make all the difference in emergency situations, as brakes that aren’t in good condition could add to your stopping distance, and the longer it takes you to bring your vehicle to a halt, the higher the chances of a collision occurring. Just a matter of moments can make all the difference between life and a fatality. Now, there are various facets of your brakes that you could test, but for now, let’s focus on brake fluid. Brake fluid is an essential part of your vehicle’s braking system and it is designed to have a high boiling point, so that it doesn’t evaporate when faced with the extreme temperatures that come hand in hand with the act of braking. However, it has one drawback – it absorbs moisture (or in official terms, it is hygroscopic). When your brake fluid has high levels of moisture within it, it’s boiling point reduces. This can result in “brake fade” – a situation where brake fluid boils under heavy driving conditions and turns into vapour. This can result to the vehicle’s brake pedal going straight to the floor with absolutely no braking action being carried out. Of course, this is extremely dangerous and happens without warning, which is perhaps why brake fluid is sometimes referred to as “the silent killer”. Testing regularly can help to prevent this situation from occurring.

While you may not have paid any attention to your brake fluid before, it’s about time that you take a good look into this aspect of vehicle maintenance. It could quite literally save a life!